Nicolas Maes, who raced his last race as a professional at the Driederage Brugge des Pannees in October, will take on a new role as Lotto Soudal's sporting director starting in 2021. 34 years old, he has been with the Belgian WorldTour team for the past four seasons and will use his expertise and knowledge to work with the team's young riders.

During his 14-year career, Maes has worked for Schokolade Jacques and Quick Step, often serving Tom Boonen in the latter. Although he rode primarily as a domestique, he won a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos in 2009 and took the overall victory in the two-day World Sport Classic in 2013.

"Already preparing for a second career in construction and real estate, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to lend a hand to Lot Soudal. Cycling is and will remain my passion."

Maes has spoken of how he enjoyed mentoring young riders late in his career and will get that opportunity once again in his new role.

"Classic is my field," he said. The team is counting on my experience, but I'm also looking forward to integrating young, new talent into the team, and 2021 will be a great learning year for me."

Lotto Soudal general manager John Lerangue added: "I'm very excited to be a part of this team. We are continuing what we started last year with [former player] Maxime Monfort [the new performance manager]. Nicolas will be assigned in the spring and will take care of the younger members of the team.

"He has a wealth of experience and knows the team inside out. In the past four seasons, Nicolas has proven to be an integral part of the Lotto Soudal Spring Classic," said Lerangoux.